Evaluation Part 2

 How does your media product represent particular social groups?

This evaluation will comment on the different social groups; ethnicity, class and status. The general short plot to our thriller is about a younger male attached to a bomb, we see the villain finishing up the last touches, however then someone from the special forces ‘hero’ enters and starts a gun fight with the villain, winning in the end and saving the victim, however it did not go to plan and the victim shouts out ‘you’ve killed us both’.

The first social class I will be talking about is ethnicity. We touched upon ethnicity by including a foreign character that is Spanish. We have involved the Spanish language in the thriller so the audience can easily understand the villain is foreign. This suggests that our thriller adheres to the stereotype of a foreign character being the villain. In society at the moment we associate a foreign language being dangerous as we are not used to the sound and it is unfamiliar, for example we associate a foreign language with a terrorist. The other two characters are English so we see a real contrast in the two cultures. This also adheres to the stereotype as the two English characters are the hero and the victim, however all the characters share the same stereotype of being a typical masculine image showing strength and professionalism.

This image shows how young and innocent the victim is compared to the other characters.

Status is shown defiantly through the thriller, however it is shifted from the different characters. Firstly beginning with the villain with complete control over the victim, then once the villain is shot by the hero, the hero gains all control and status while the villain has none as he has died, this then carries through until the end when the victim screams out ‘you’ve killed us both’, the victim has gathered all power and status from the hero as the hero makes a mistake. Looking at the different ages also connects with status. Our thriller consists of two age groups, an older character who is between 20-35 then we have the younger character that is around the age range of 18-22. They are all adhering to the stereotype as the younger character is shown as helpless and trapped (the victim) then the other two character are either the hero or the villain, and for either of those characters you have to be professional and older. 

The image on the right shows the villain wearing his balaclava and the image on the left shows the characters features from side on. This also shows how much older the villain looks compared to the victim.

Mise-en-scene influenced the characters in my thriller massively. We dressed the villain in full black clothing including a black balaclava only showing his face, hiding his full identity, this also links to their ethnicity by having the villain in a balaclava as we foresee this as being dangerous. This adheres to the stereotype of a terrorist as it is what the audience would expect. The victim is wearing a torn, blood stained white shirt with black trousers, which suggests he was professional but was defeated in some way and has lost his status to the villain. Therefore as soon as we are introduced to the victim we automatically see a higher status from the villain. The white shirt was used to capture the audience’s attention as both the other characters wore black clothing, so the white shirt stood out suggesting this character was or is going to be a features part in the thriller. Our hero is similarly dressed to the villain apart from the balaclava, which defines the two characters.

These are photos of wooden crate with grenades and on the right the acidic liquid, with a bomb attached to it.

The props used in this thriller are mostly used to set and create the scene. There are shots of barbed wire, acidic liquid containers, steel bins and a wooden crate filled with nails, and grenades. Guns are a huge part of this thriller, however two out of the three characters use them, the villain and the hero, which also suggests a higher status above the victim. This adheres to the stereotype as normally the victims are weak and venerable while the hero’s and villains are in full power.

Lastly this image on the right shows the prop gun that the villain uses.

Character positioning is shows in this image by noticing that the victim is sitting on a chair on the lower level from the stairs.

This image shows how the hero is at a higher status as the villain, as the hero is on a higher level (on the stairs).

Character positioning uses in this thriller opening shows the status between characters. The victim was placed on a chair near the back of the room. This gave him a lower angle making his character feel intimidated by the action happening around him, however this increases the status and hierarchy of the other two characters. At the beginning of the opening sequence the villain is above the victim giving him more power and authority but as soon as the hero enters he is discovered on a higher level as appears on the stairs, which adheres to the stereotype of the hero being the main focus and full authority. This status is followed throughout the thriller sequence. This also relates back to ethnicity and is subverting the stereotype because strong foreign villains are usually much more powerful and in control than the hero at the beginning.

We tried to make the set design of the thriller as realistic as possible, adding lighting to highlight aspects of the room so shadows could be created.

Editing was shown through shot duration and linear duration. The shot durations in this thriller sequence varies, for example the beginning shots from when the acting begins are long so the audience can capture the setting and understand the situation, but as soon as the hero enters the shot duration speeds up, creating tension and excitement, even though slow motion is included in this section the scene is full of suspense as it cuts in and out of it in a fast direct manner. This opening sequence was a linear duration because is started from the beginning on the scene and went right through to the end. Special effects were added in, which include gun shot sounds/flashes and blood. This builds the intensity and energy of the thriller and helps make it look more realistic.

Diegetic sound is used throughout this thriller, this helps the audience completely draw into the acting and situation with no distractions. We increased the sound levels of the speech included in the thriller, which consists of a Spanish language relating back to ethnicity and how the villain is adhering to the stereotype of a terrorist. There are ambient sounds in the background of the thriller, where machinery is heard, this sets the scene extremely well, this heightened the intensity and suspense on the clip as it contrasted to the action scene well.

the screenshot on the left shows the hero killing the villain and it being shot at a higher level showing a higher status.

The camera was used with effectively to show status. We are shown a medium shot of the victim sitting on the chair, whilst the villain walks around him however we can not see the villains upper half which suggest he is taller and in demand on the victim. Similarly when the hero arrives we are shown a close up of the villain whilst the hero appears behind on a higher level taking a higher status over the villain. This status is maintained through the shooting scene until the hero comes down the stairs. An over the top shot is revealed when the hero shoots the villain, this immediately shows authority and a higher status for the hero, which adheres to the stereotype of the hero winning in the end.